Japanese Translation Services
Since 2005 we’ve provided high-quality translation and localization services to clients all over the world.
Located just north of Chicago, we work with professional Japanese linguists and a team of highly skilled project managers to provide excellent customer service and speedy project turnarounds to our clients.
Nuanced Japanese Translations
With over 120 million Japanese speakers, Japanese is the eigth most-spoken language in the world, and one of the most used language on the Internet. In fact, Japanese speakers make up almost 3% of all Internet users, so if you are planning a global online marketing campaign, Japanese should definitely be on your localization list.
Whether you need to translate websites, legal contracts, surveys, marketing materials or technical documents to or from Japanese, our team is ready to help. We bring together the best Japanese translators and the latest translation technology to ensure accuracy and efficiency. Our dedicated project managers work with you from start to finish to make the process as seamless as possible.
Translating to and from Japanese comes with many challenges and should only be done by professional translators who are native speakers of the target language. Whereas the process of translating between two Indo-European languages usually involves two steps (semantic analysis and syntactic transformation), breaking down the various nuances and translating between English and Japanese can involve five or more steps, making the whole process far more complex and time-consuming.
In many instances, English to Japanese translation requires more transcreation. This is primarily because the grammar is fundamentally different from English, and many modern English words and concepts do not exist in Japanese. Through transcreation, we use a mix of copywriting and translation to make sure that your message and voice stays consistent across languages.
Japanese Audio Transcription
Looking for Japanese audio transcription? We transcribe focus groups, interviews, documentaries, conference calls, seminars, legal proceedings, body wires and other audio and video content.
Multilingual Connections transcription services include:
- monolingual transcription (source audio > source text)
- interpretive transcription (source audio > target language text)
- double column (both languages side-by-side)
We’re happy to accommodate your formatting needs and timestamping.
While Japan is a relatively small country, there are a number of dialects in it. Some experts say there are seven major dialects in Japan, not counting the Tokyo dialect, which is considered standard Japanese. Finding a translator who speaks the right dialect is imperative to your transcription and interpretation project success, and our team is here to find the right person for you.
Japanese Voiceover and Subtitle Translation
People in Japan are generally more used to subtitles than dubbing. This includes news programs, variety/comedy shows, movies, and more. And in comedy shows, colorful and exaggerated subtitles make the content more fun for viewers. However, the target audience should always be considered when deciding between subtitles and dubbing. If your audience is primarily younger children or if the scenes cut too quickly for someone to reasonably understand the information, dubbing is the best way to go.
Multilingual Connections’ multimedia localization team works with you to bring your story and your voice to life in Japanese. We work with video production companies, creative agencies and filmmakers to produce film content with linguistic accuracy and cultural nuance. Only a small percentage of our linguists are assigned to subtitling and voiceover projects, as it requires unique training and skill. Count on us to help grow your Japanese-speaking audience — or to bring your Japanese language content to speakers of other languages!
Japanese Interpretation
Planning conferences, employee meetings, legal proceedings or training with a Japanese speaker? Talk to us about your needs for consecutive interpretation, simultaneous interpretation or phone interpretation, available in the U.S. and throughout the world. Our highly-trained and experienced interpreters convey your message accurately and help you connect with your audience!
Define your audience
It’s extremely important to define your target audience when targeting Japanese speakers. Unlike English, the Japanese language has many levels of politeness, which is more of a spectrum rather than a rigid scale. Each level has its own subtle differences, related to grammatical forms, words chosen, ways to express ideas, and more. In English, in formal speech, you would change your choice of words (for example, the use of Sir or Ma’am) and use more complete sentences. The same goes for Japanese, and only a professional translator can pick up on the formality in both languages and translate your message while keeping it true to the original.